Understanding your
BMI
Do I qualify for surgery?- NICE guidelines and BMI calculator
NICE Guidelines (National Institute
for Clinical Excellence)
The NHS doesn’t routinely fund bariatric surgery for
anyone who requests it. Patients will usually have to meet
a list of conditions to qualify. Often the Primary Care Trusts
or PCTs (who fund the operations) will refer to the “NICE
guidelines”. These are recommendations set out by the
National Institute for Clinical Excellence.
There are several recommendations but we have included the
most commonly requested here. Before checking, you will need
to know your body mass index or BMI. The BMI is one methods
of assessing how overweight you may be. It considers your
weight in relationship to your height and helps to describe
the degree of your obesity. We have provided a calculator
to help your to calculate your own BMI.
You will need to have:-
Or
- A BMI of 35 if you also have a condition made worse by
obesity. This might include diabetes, high blood pressure,
heart problems or severe joint problems.
- You will be expected to have tried all other alternatives
(including diets, drug treatments or even counselling)
for a minimum of 6 months.
- You may be required to have attended a specialist NHS
obesity clinic for at least a year.
- You will need to be assessed as fit enough for the operation
and general anaesthetic. You must be aware of the risks
of complications.
- You must understand the need for long term follow up
and be committed to changing your lifestyle.
BMI
Body Mass Index (BMI) describes a person’s body weight relative to their height and correlates strongly with the body fat content. It is the primary indictor used by bariatric surgeons to assess a patient’s suitability for surgery and to monitor post-operative weight loss.
BMI is calculated by dividing a person’s weight (kg) by their height squared (m²).
For example, a patient weighing 150kg with a height of 1.70m:
BMI =150kg/1.70m² = 51.9kg/m²
BMI is also used to define thresholds of weight:
BMI |
Category |
Risk of associated co-morbidities* |
18.5 or less |
Underweight |
N/A |
18.5 – 24.9 |
Normal |
Low |
25.0 – 29.9 |
Overweight |
Increased Risk |
30.0 – 34.9 |
Obese |
High Risk |
35.0 – 39.9 |
Obese |
Very High Risk |
40.0 or greater |
Morbidly Obese |
Extremely High Risk |
* Including hypertension, diabetes, osteoarthritis, obstructive sleep apnoea and cardiovascular disease
Calculate
your BMI |
| Please fill in your weight and height in the fields
below, then click on 'calculate' to view your BMI
with your results plotted on the graph. |
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